Focus Regions

PEN America works to protect freedom of expression and promote fundamental rights around the world, with particular emphasis in Focus Regions here we have developed expertise and built relationships with people and organizations on the ground. Read below to learn more PEN America’s initiatives to help address distinct regional challenges in these areas and how you can be part of these important efforts.

Many challenges to free expression transcend state and regional boundaries. Learn more about our approaches to these Focus Issues.

Following the historic November 2015 elections, hopes were high that the space for free expression in Myanmar would widen considerably. However, under the new government, journalists continue to be…More

The climate for free expression in Bangladesh has significantly deteriorated: Radical Islamist groups have claimed the killings of six bloggers, free thinkers, and their publishers since February 2015, and…More

PEN America works to aid and elevate Russian writers fighting limits on free discourse and open access to information, including by hosting independent novelists, poets, and journalists for public…More